Decimation, Extinction Agenda, Messiah Complex… and here we are.

What an event it was! Full of fights and drama and twists and turns and hey, it’s our old friend, Mutant Dystopian Future! It was indeed like the days of yore, of Fall of the Mutants and X-Tinction Agenda, of fights that move from one book to the next, of characters that don’t seem to be doing anything suddenly front and center by chapter eight, of small details you have to remember from chapter to chapter like lost socks looking for a mate… well, let’s just say that these kinds of crossovers have their good points and bad points. In any case, it’s a great big dose of nostalgia for Yours Truly, one of those big, messy events that leaves us holding a moment in X-Men History.

At the end of it all, with his cast and crew around him, Scott uttered very shocking and soon-to-be famous words around the body of a dead man, words that will last us until Uncanny X-Men #500 when a clear vision of the X-Men will show itself to the True Believers. These words?

“No more mutants X-Men!”

But if you come to think about it, have there really been X-Men recently?

WARNING: Messiah Complex spoilers. For that one guy who hasn’t read it yet. You know who you are.
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Well, here we are rounding out the first month of the new year. Normally, I’d have a look at the solicitations for three months from now and see where we’re going in the mighty Marvel Universe (is there a hand basket involved?), but today we’re going to try something a little different.

I’ve been asked by the fine folks here at Blog@Newsarama to look ahead to this brand new year and write up a little something on the awesomeness that the House of Ideas is going to bring to the table of 2008. Now, I came up with five big things that Yours Truly has added to the ol’ Pull List and or avidly awaited since yesteryear and so I bring to you what I consider to be the future highlights of 2008.

Just copy and paste this into the End of the Year Spotlight in December, will ya?

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Cult classics.

Therein lies the key to a fanbase, a very small but very special key that inspires devotion and unity under the strangest of banners.  Believe it or not, your trash is another man’s treasured character collection.  There are those out there who think Stilt Man’s pretty cool, there are those who have every comic Meggan’s ever been in and still others who can recite every member of the Serpent Society.  My imagination is even vivid enough to think that somewhere, somehow, someone thinks Penance is cool.  That’s the neat thing about comics, no character can truly go unnoticed.

And then there’s Deadpool.

Today, he has two comics coming out, one is his own title and the other is a rather long guest spot on Wolverine: Origins.  Both are very out of place within the general X-Men milieu and this brings me to wonder… why?  Has Wade Wilson ever carried his own book?  Do we really know anything about the guy that warrants more guest appearances?
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Amazing Spider-Man #546 comes out today. I hope you enjoyed it. Heck, I hope I enjoyed it since, by the time you’re reading this, I haven’t read it yet. But in an effort to get away from One More Day (remember now, the more you talk about it, the more you give it power), let’s talk about other bad story directions from Marvel.

Way back when, when the dust from Civil War was still settling, they announced a new direction for the Thunderbolts wherein they’d be some of the worst of the worst villains Marvel has to offer hired by the government to be another sort of flavor of the Avengers. A team of misfits and criminals injected with nanites to make them behave within expected parameters, all of whom operate out of a corny central base, highlighted by media spin (Oh look, another team of celebrity superheroes! What is it with this concept that seems so overused these days?). All of which will be run by, of all people, Norman Osborn: a man who was nearly Hannibal Lecter meets the Manchurian Candidate in Civil War: Frontline. Well, kids, now he’s entrusted with keeping psychopaths like Venom and Bullseye in line with whatever the government wants from a superhero team. People consider Captain America a villain and these yahoos are getting the limelight, the ridiculous toys and technical gear and somehow, this is all going to keep America safe.

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“It’s Christmas Day!” said Scrooge to himself. “I haven’t missed it. The Spirits have done it all in one night. They can do anything they like. Of course they can. Of course they can.”

And yes, much like Scrooge McDuck- I mean, Ebenezer Scrooge, I too ran down the streets with joy in my heart for a second chance at living.  Only this time, it was for Spider-Man and not some mean old guy.

Okay, so A Christmas Carol was a little deeper to the human spirit and didn’t have a damning internet poll the week after it was released, but I think after reading One More Day, we’ve all survived something and hopefully, a little wiser for what we’ve been shown.

The last week of 2007 had the last issue of Amazing Spider-Man under J. Michael Straczynski’s reign hit the stands and the end of what has seemed to be a long, strange and unsatisfying journey into some of the most… well, the polite thing to say is ‘daring’ plots ol’ Web-Head has had to endure. By the time this whole the last story was ready to roll, there was simply no lower Peter Parker could go, except to make a deal with the devil.

And here we were.

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March! The wonderful month of March, coming in like a lion and out like a lamb! Yes, as we all away from the Christmas cold, let’s look ahead to the month of March, free of One More Days, Messiah CompleXs and World Wars. Okay, maybe a little war in secret.

For you see, we’re getting the SECRET INVASION SAGA, proving the next big Marvel event will not be televised, but instead it will be 32 pages and FREE.

From the solicitation, it sounds like this will be the best and brightest behind-the-scenes treasure map to the storyline said to have been in the works for years. “From their first encounter with the Fantastic Four, through the epic clash of the Kree/Skrull War and the destruction of the Skrull Throneworld, all the way to the recent Annihilation War and subsequent invasion of Earth, the time line of known Skrull activity is made clear so effective battle plans can be drawn.” Wow. Even being so far away from the first real salvos to the Secret Invasion, this seems like a goldmine. Does this mean the plot’s going to be so convoluted that a free road map is required? Will this just be a repository for ads of books past and issues yet to come? Does it matter ’cause the darn thing is free?

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The dictionary definition of vengeance is rather simple, ‘punishment inflicted in retaliation for an injury or offense’, the darker side of retribution. I think a good sized poll of people on the street could tell you what vengeance is, but both the dictionary and the average Joe might be a little iffy on where vengeance actually comes from, what the moralistic roots are, so to speak.

Strangely enough, both Marvel and DC are rather divided on the issue as well, both companies with characters who take the retribution act into their own hands. You could say they are dark fate incarnate, another living embodiment of an abstract concept like death (be she Cute Goth Chick or Sexy Skull-Face). You do something evil, eventually justice finds you. Comforting in a way, despite both characters being rather frightening in scope and wardrobe.

But if they are the sword that strikes the wicked down, who makes the call to swing that sword in the first place? What drives vengeance?
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If you’re reading this, you love comics. Or at least enjoy them. If you don’t, CNN.com is right here.

Anyways, one of the best things about enjoying a particular hobby or TV show or music group is sharing it with someone else. It’s one of those feel-good moments that brings people together in mutual appreciate or hate (”I think this last season of Heroes sucks!” “Me too!”). The industry at times seems both ‘for kids’ and ‘absolutely NOT for kids’, a ridiculous medium that’s on its way out or something that is hitting the masses and becoming part of modern culture. It’s full of twists and turns and by gosh, there is so much to comic books that the Average Joe(tm) doesn’t understand, wouldn’t it be great to share this great art form with someone you love (or at least like) this holiday season?

How about the fact that you really don’t want to brave the shopping malls and going to the local comic shop is a really easy way to both pick up your pull and get some presents?

Never fear! The comic blogosphere has got you covered. You’re going to see tons of lists for what to get the comic fan in your life, what to get the manga fan, the TV show junkie… it got me thinking. What about just a general list of how to give comics to anyone? No expensive lists, no blatant name dropping, just a general idea to use or give to a loved one that has no idea what a 10-year old boy could want. Even if it is their son and his birthday is tomorrow.

Print this out, take a deep breath, and get shopping!
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John Byrne’s Sensational She-Hulk were some of the first comics I got into as a burgeoning fan-girl. I actually made a Jennifer Walters costume when I was in 8th grade (complete with lawyer-riffic suit and gobs of green make-up). She’s been a constant source of Marvel-licious fun for me as a heroine who can do whatever she wants in life and chooses to do good in the most adventurous sense as well as the most mundane of senses as well. I mean, Daredevil’s a super-hero lawyer, but it’s a secret identity, it’s his chance to work the law both in front of and behind the scenes. She-Hulk just seemed to cut all that and get to the nitty-gritty. As Bruce Banner was wracked with guilt and torture over his transformations, Jennifer Walters embraced them and made the best of everything. Even Geoff Johns took a moment to explain her ‘gamma expression’, to coin a term; that while Bruce’s affliction worked off of anger, Jennifer’s worked off of self-image.

Dan Slott, despite a shaky middle story arc with Starfox, found the heart of the character, the humor and the humanity, so to speak and wrote a fantastic run of books that I was proud to give out to customers looking for a strong, self-confident and honestly fun super-heroine. Let’s face it, none of us could be Wonder Woman but, like a lot of Marvel characters, She-Hulk’s power really does come from within (plus a heapin’ helping of circumstance). Would any of us rise to the challenge after being shot at and receiving a blood transfusion from one of the most dangerous men on the planet? Let’s read She-Hulk and find out.

So, what’s the gamma gal up to now?

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With Thanksgiving here, we can finally look forward to… FEBRUARY! Merry Valentine’s Day. Because not only does the end of November bring with it the start of December and the crazy days of Christmas, but a look forward three months ahead to Marvel’s books for the second month of 2008. Let’s take a look at what the end of this year has wrought upon the next.

LORDS OF AVALON: SWORD OF DARKNESS #1 (of 6)
It’s interesting how Marvel was trying on the Romance Comics genre a while back, checking to see if it was still in style, mostly using Romance Redux to treat it as a gag. Now, welcome to February 2008! Where a best-selling supernatural romance author’s work is being adapted for the comic page. It makes a lot of sense, considering how well Anita Blake is doing (I can only speak for my store where the title has actually netted us a healthy amount of new customers) and it’s no secret that this book is most likely the direct result of the popularity of Marvel’s ‘literary’ line, like Dark Tower and Anita Blake.

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Recently, Marvel.com went live with a revolution in online comics!  A step forward into the future!  A lot of press release enthusiasm!  And… well, something I thought they had already been doing.

You might have already flipped through a digital comic on Marvel’s website before, a newly released #1 you didn’t get a chance to pick up in the shop, maybe a relevant issue to a popular storyling or movie tie-in, or even just a book Marvel  just wanted to get a little more press on.  I had seen a couple myself, but the interface was a little weird and I’m rather spoiled in that I can just go to my local comic shop and pick up the book instead.  Now, instead of these select few issues, Marvel is offering a database of 2,700 comics (with more added weekly) for you viewing pleasure.  Right now, there are 250 preview samples and a select list of offerings to tempt the palette of the discerning Marvel zombie.

But is it worth the subscription price?

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No one is safe. … I can’t say what book is going, what books are coming, but I’ll say this—No book is the same after this. Not one. And I’m not just hyperbolizing. Which I know I do sometimes. But let’s talk about this in February. And you can call me on it if it’s not true.

-Nick Lowe

And so, with the reader as a metaphorical Rocky, we wait as Marvel the Bullwinkle promises to pull a rabbit out of its hat. Giving credit where credit is due, mind you, the House of Ideas has been shooting for the moon, month after month, making everything you know topsy-turvy and shaking up the X-Men like never before. Don’t get me wrong, they’ve needed a good shake up for awhile but in the end, it gets me wondering how much they can shake before it all becomes a blur.

From Decimation to the death of the majority of their younger students to Sentinels patrolling the school as the last refuge of an entire species to Xavier’s loss of powers and control over the team he founded to trips into space and back and don’t even get me started Astonishing X-Men. If everything is never going to be the same again again, well… quite frankly, I’m exhausted.

When considering the incredible climax of this old school style mega-event from the X-Books, it seems that change is everything. At the same time, however, there are just some constants the X-Men have to have that sets them apart from nearly every other super-team if not comic book out there, things they created or started or continue to do that endear them to the reader and made the X-Men a pop culture point of history. So if you’re like me and hoping you survive the experience from one more tumultuous event, keep in mind this short list of things you can’t change about Marvel’s Merry Mutants.

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Happy Halloween, everyone!  Today, the internet will be chock full of spooky posts and ghoulish lists of particularly scary or horror themed comics.  Draculas, Man-Bats, Frankensteins and Sons of Satan will be plentiful and we’ll all take a look at the fun that can be had with things that go bump in the night.

But here at the Fifth Color, we’re going to take a different route!  No no, no real monsters will be ventured, but what I like to hope are the more theoretical ones.  Monsters that still lurk in the shadows!

Do you dare venture back in time, eight months back to some of the biggest news Marvel still has yet to give peep one about?  Especially with this week’s release of Annihilation Conquest: Quasar #4?  True Believers, the most dangerous items to cross the Marvel Universe are in the hands of th five most powerful men possibly on the planet.  And right now?  They are in a whole mess of trouble.

(NOTE: Big Spoiler for Annihilation Conquest inside!  Read at your own peril.)
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Let’s face it, villainy in the Marvel U. has been a little… waining as of late. With heroes fighting heroes, it seems a lot of the threats superheroes once faced have either taken a vacation or are building up to something big while they have the time. A bank robbery seems ironically small change when the Hulk is building a gladiatorial pit in New York and Iron Man is enforcing his law over the United States. Even ol’ Doc Doom hasn’t succeeded along the lines of those who’d thwarted him time and again! Things have gotten so intense for our heroes that consistently trying to step up and outdo the latest big thing is getting more and more difficult.

So what can you do? Are villains even relevant anymore? How can you make your mark as the opposition when the stakes have been raised pretty high by the people who are supposed to be defeating them in the first place? Well, you can take the quick approach, gather up some folks we haven’t seen in awhile (or… at least since Omega Flight), give them some seed money, show them you’re a viable force and complete your first gig all in one issue. This sets you up as fast as possible to get to the meat of a story that or you can take your time. Hit them truly where it hurts. Show some smarts and prove that being a villain is more than just taking cash or beating up people. Show them that it’s personal.

(NOTE: the following has some spoilers for today’s Daredevil #101 and I am distinctly lacking a proper scanner, so grab your own copy, enjoy and read along!)
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And we’re back! Thank you for bearing with the Fifth Color’s sad absence due to bronchial infection last week, but now we’re medicated, semi-rested and rarin’ to go!

Look how rarin’ it is! Please note the new title, as we are trying Marvel’s best tactic to revive an ailing title: NEW! Yes, yes! All new, all different, same peek into the future with the first look at next year’s books! But now: NO FORMATTING! I have finally seen the light that it’s only going to look good on this screen and really, it’s just not helping the incredible selection of books I want to point out to people as the best and brightest of the oncoming Marvel onslaught of titles.

And what an onslaught! New #1 issues! New conclusions to story lines years in the making! New powers for characters! New costumes! And one solicitation goes so far as to break the NEW Sound Barrier with the most uses of the word in one single sentence! What is this super new book? What could the future look like? What will this advanced solicitation review look like?

Read on, True Believers!
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We all have our vices. Those automatic comic buys based on character loyalty. I’ll admit it, I can go through a long box at home and wonder why on Earth I only own one copy of some obscure title I have nothing else of only to discover that it just so happens to have Quicksilver’s elbow on the fifth page spread. No matter what they do to certain fictional people, there are those who will stand by them through thick and thin and continue to support that archetype, even if it is long gone or rewritten or ‘ultimate-ized’ or ‘x-treme’.

Now I’ll also admit most of my personal character loyalties lie wih male heroes while female heroes are held up to much more scrutiny. Is it fair? Not really; these are all just drawings and words and why should one be more important than another based on curves or a ‘-woman’ tacked on her name? It’s the content of the character’s character that truly matters as we can connect with aliens in sci-fi and long lost race of elves or dwarves in fantasy if the content tells us something new about ourselves and the world we live in.

And while times have sure changed and the loyalty has lost its luster, there is one female hero who remains my absolute favorite, no matter how far she’s come in the comic world. From 1972, I think she’s even more revolutionary now and her name is The Cat.

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When the Captain America Omnibus came out a week or so ago at the store, it was like Christmas came early for the employees. An expensive Christmas as the book set at least three of us back a pretty penny, but as we cracked open the first copy bought amongst us, we all knew it was worth it. Oohing and ahhing at the production quality and all of our favorite moments from Brubaker’s run, we hit some of the special features and that’s when the cry went out.

“Hey,” noted a fellow register jockey. “That text is still blacked out!”

Lo and behold, the script shown in the Director’s Cut was included in the omnibus and on the last page, detailing page 31, panel 4, was at least four lines with a big black mark across them and clearly labeled CENSORED. Little did I know, these four lines would lead us all down a path of investigative discovery the likes of which hadn’t been seen since the days of Zapruder film. Only this time, it was a comic book. And quite possibly, it could break the internet in half. No, really. This time, we meant it.

Face front, True Believers and read on!

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Wow, is it me or did this month just fly on by? It feels like I was just running off to work after going over November’s solicitations and now, here we are again looking at December.  I take this as a good sign as 2007 looks to end a lot in the ol’ Marvel U as well as start us off in a few exciting directions, including the long-awaited return to a Spider-Man we can really get behind. Gone are is the black costume! Gone are the threats of murder! No more tears, Spidey!

Oh, I cannot wait for Christmas.

Let’s begin, shall we?

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What a wild week it’s been! Since I last spoke to you on the Hulk: Monster or Menace? issue, Yours Truly has been in a state of non-stop go and at the end of all this hubbub, I managed to get myself hitched.

Take that, Joe Quesada.

Yes, thanks to this bold decision to marry the man I love, I’m most certainly alienating a readership and losing a lot of my story opportunities. My apologies to those who were expecting a nice long post about the 100th issue of Daredevil since the Kevin Smith revival, but I promise to prove the EiC wrong about married life and remain relatable and interesting once I’ve gotten all this honeymoon out of my system.

But in the meantime, if you’re really that unhappy with how Spider-Man 3 ended, watch someone’s fine and snappy attempt to show you how it should have ended. These folks do a fine job of rewriting the ending of popular movies, animating them in quick shorts and giving viewer satisfaction to those who have ever walked out of a theater asking themselves, “No, really… what was that all about?” My hope is that they tackle Ang Lee’s Hulk soon.

Still recovering from the after effects of the first issue of One More Day (and wondering what exactly that was all about aside from starting off the trade), think of ways that you would fix Spider-Man and his franchise. Ponder if this ‘One More Day’ event will live up to standards of setting up Peter Parker for his original audience or simply be the last in the line of Disassembled and the Other and Sins Past and that whole Spider-Totem nonsense.

Because marriage isn’t some damning concept for the everyman hero and his future, it’s something you declare in spite of the future, even as far as 2099.

Then again, I’m biased.

Happy post-Labor Day, everyone! Before we get into todays article, I just want to give a friendly shout-out to my fellow retail jockeys and remind all of you that comics will be coming out tomorrow instead of today due to shipping changes from the holiday.

But please, don’t forget to drop by your local comic shop anyway this week and say hi. They’ll be lonely and confused, the comic shop employee’s internal clock timed to the Diamond shipping list like the phases of the moon with the tide.

And speaking of natural forces, this week brings us an interesting conundrum regarding everyone’s favorite not-so Jolly Green Giant as Incredible Hulk #110 gives us something to weigh in the face of the Hulk’s past transgressions.

WARNING: the following post has spoilers for Incredible Hulk #110, coming out tomorrow. Not terrific spoilers mind you, but spoilers nonetheless. Feel free to bookmark this until tomorrow, grab your copy and read along!

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